Gaza: Thousands break into aid warehouses as desperation grows

DEIR AL-BALAH (GAZA STRIP): Thousands of people broke into aid warehouses in Gaza to take flour and basic hygiene products, a UN agency said Sunday, in a mark of growing desperation and the breakdown of public order three weeks into the war between Israel and Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers.

Thomas White, Gaza for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, said the warehouse break-ins were a worrying sign that civil order is starting to break down. “People are scared, frustrated and desperate,” he said.

Juliette Touma, a spokesperson of the agency, said the crowds broke into four facilities on Saturday. She said the warehouses did not contain any fuel, which has been in critically short supply since Israel cut off all shipments after the start of the war.

Meanwhile, Gaza’s Health Ministry said the death toll among Palestinians has passed 8,000 — mostly women and minors.

Tanks and infantry pushed into Gaza over the weekend as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a “second stage” in the war. The bombardment over the weekend — described by Gaza residents as the most intense of the war — knocked out most communications in the territory late Friday, largely cutting off the besieged enclave’s 2.3 million people from the world. Communications were restored to much of Gaza early Sunday.